Our son is 16 years old and struggles daily with autism since age 3. I identify with my son for different reasons. I'm transgender knowing since age 4. Emily.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

The importance of fitting in

As a father I always try to teach my son the important things in life and support him in all he does. I am always trying to instill in him the proper values and proper behaviors he should follow and that he should always accept others and try never to lose his patience and that he should always have heart in all he tries and to never give up. I also wish to teach my son the importance of fitting in and being committed to finding things of interest so he can develop and establish skills and confidence which will enable him to make friends.

When you find something that interests you and that can help make you a better person and help you in developing and maturing and establishing friendships you should stick to it because that is so very important and should always be a priority. I certainly can relate things in my life as a young boy that helped me acquire self confidence and also made me a better person and I try to relate these experiences to my son so he can learn and make choices. I also try to tell my son that at times we also appreciate our alone time and we do cherish our privacy as well. It is important to know how to balance both because we should have times where we can be alone but most importantly should have times where we are participating and enjoying the company of others.

When you develop self confidence and feel good about yourself you can then find joy in participating in activities that interest you and provide you with positive experiences and enable you to make friends and learn important things such as competition, teamwork, friendship and most of all the fun and excitement in participating with others and fitting in as a member of a group.

The joys of childhood are a very meaningful time in our life and help form us as individuals. What we learn in our childhood stays with us for the rest of our lives and are what help shape us and teach us about ourselves and how we interact with others. My earliest childhood experiences have been a major factor in my life and have shaped me as a person and I know my son has made choices in his young life based on his feelings and experiences as a young child like I have.If I could teach my son one thing that would make a difference in his life it would be to have trust in his abilities and himself as a person and to know that he has so much to be proud of. My parents always made me realize how important it is to believe in yourself and to never give up. This is what I learned as a child from my parents and this is what I want my son to learn in his youth as well which he will apply in his adulthood which will make him grow and mature and give him a sense of accomplishment. After all this is what we all seek in our lives is a sense of accomplishment.

It is so very important to realize that everything we accomplish and achieve is based on all we learn as children. It is so crucial to tap into our inner being as a child and nurture it for it is our way of expressing who we are and our way of learning who we are and how we relate to others. Our childhood is the most important aspect of our life and that is why it is so important to teach our children and always be there to help them and most importantly to listen to them for this is how they learn by interacting first with us and then with their teachers and their peers.